TECHNOLOGY
Tencent weighing bid
Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) is weighing a bid for part of Temasek Holdings Pte’s stake in global retailer A.S. Watson Group, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Singapore state investment company is considering selling about a 10 percent stake in A.S. Watson for about US$3 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. That is just under half of its 25 percent holding.
INTERNET
Instagram allows shopping
Facebook Inc-owned Instagram on Tuesday made a move into potentially lucrative e-commerce by adding an option to buy products shown off in posts by selected brands. A new “checkout” button for instant purchasing launched in a beta version of the app in the US with a limited number of businesses, according to the popular image-centric messaging service. Tapping the checkout button is to allow shoppers to select options, such as size or color, and then pay for items without leaving the Instagram app. Previously, people inspired to buy products featured in Instagram posts had to follow links to outside online shopping sites. Brands taking part in the checkout feature included Adidas, Burberry, Dior, H&M, Nike, Oscar de la Renta, Prada, and glasses retailer Warby Parker.
ZIMBABWE
Tobacco harvest to decline
The country’s tobacco crop, one of its main generators of foreign exchange, is expected to decline as much as 13 percent this year, the industry marketing board said. Output might be 220 million to 240 million kilograms in the marketing season that began yesterday and ends in September, an official at the Tobacco Industry & Marketing Board said in the capital, Harare. Production last year was 252 million kilograms. The harvest would be reduced by drought and damage caused by Cyclone Idai to barns used to store the crop, the official said.
TECHNOLOGY
Doctolib valued over US$1bn
Doctor appointment booking app Doctolib has been valued at more than US$1 billion after raising new funding, adding to the surge of interest in healthcare start-ups. Founded in 2013, Doctolib operates a doctor’s appointment booking app and related management software, and has been growing services of video-based consultations and digital prescriptions. Doctolib’s 150 million euro (US$170 million) round announced yesterday was led by US-based growth equity investor General Atlantic, the start-up said in a statement. Doctolib is the latest unicorn technology start-up in a club that includes cloud storage supplier OVH Groupe SAS, vehicle-sharing app Blablacar and music streaming service Deezer SA.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Google boosts AMD stock
The biggest move in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc shares in seven weeks led to some head-scratching on Wall Street. The stock on Tuesday rallied 12 percent as Alphabet Inc’s Google unveiled its videogame streaming service that would use AMD processors, even though analysts said the chipmaker’s involvement was already known. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿豐) said during a presentation at the CES trade show in January that its graphics processors would be used as part of Google’s gaming project. “We are surprised by the stock price move as we believed this was a well-known win,” RBC’s Mitch Steves wrote in a research note.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
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